F airfax County residents will spend even more on taxes and fees in Fiscal Year 2025. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 to approve the Fiscal Year 2025 budget before its formal adoption next Tuesday. The Board also approved guidance for the FY 2026 budget to diversify its revenue base. The budget markup reduces the Advertised Real Estate Tax from $1.135 to $1.125 per $100 assessed value. In an April 19 memorandum to the Board, County Executive Bryan Hill said with adjustments in the FY 2025 Add-On package, the general fund balance is $11,013,683. Staff recommended a $0.3 million increase to the FY 2025 revenues. According to the memorandum, this is because of a $1.5 million increase in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT), which was offset by a $1.2 million decrease due to Board actions taken on 2025 increases. The Planning Commission voted earlier this month to recommend that the Board approve the FY 2025-2029 Advertised Capital Improvement Program (CIP) discussed at the Budget Committee meeting in March. The Planning Commissioners’ CIP motion proposals were approved unanimously. The total CIP cost is $14.301 billion, including $1.06 billion for programs managed outside the county, such as NOVA Parks. The fee increases proposed by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and the Office of the Fire Marshal will be phased in over two years. The Board also approved the FY 2024 Third Quarter Review. Board adjustments included $4 million in support for local affordable housing initiatives, $500,000 for the Fairfax County Public Library, $300,000 for Wakefield Pickleball Courts, $150,000 for the Women’s Center relocation, and $58,000 for the Eileen Garnett Civic Space in Annandale. The budget adjustments and the 2% market rate adjustment will fund county employee salary increases between 3.25% and 6% in 2025. Nearly 1,200 employees will receive an additional 5% based on annual benchmark reviews to ensure pay keeps up with the market. Deputy sheriffs will receive an average wage increase of 7.85% in FY 2025. According to a press release from the office of Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the budget includes the average 2.9% increase in property value assessments and the 3-cent real estate tax increase. The release did not mention reducing the tax burden felt by residents. “More people are leaving the county than coming to the county, and high taxes and fees are a big part of our affordability problem,” Herrity said. “Not only are our residents paying more in taxes and fees on everything from athletics to building permits, but they are getting less in services.” This approval also moves forward with consolidating some animal services under the Department of Animal Sheltering (DAS) despite expert testimonies opposing this change. It also maintains the $165 million proposed school operating transfer increase, with the expectation that more funding will close the gap on the FCPS request for $250 million. The Southern States Police Benevolent Association (SSPBA) Fairfax County chapter Vice President Siobhan Chase said the union had opposed the proposal to consolidate animal services under DAS. However, they respect that this is the Board’s decision. She said that points raised over the negative impacts of this consolidation on the community remain. “There is still profound disappointment in the County Executive’s office for how this whole consolidation has been conceived and implemented,” Chase said. “We hope that the Deputy County Executive for Safety and Security is willing to engage with the SSPBA and the APPOs in a frank and honest discussion about this consolidation in order for everyone to be able to move forward.” Chase said the SSPBA will be in effect, bargaining to ensure the officers’ care, and thanked Herrity for his motion to amend and his support for the APPOs. She said one thing all parties agreed on is the performance and dedication of the current APPOs. “These are officers who have truly gone above and beyond what has been asked of them by this County and the Fairfax County community,” Chase said. “Unfortunately, we do not feel that this proposal reflected the respect that they deserve. We are hoping they are granted that respect moving forward.” During the public hearings and budget talks, Herrity repeatedly called for the Board to do a deep dive into the budget. “The Board didn’t make any cuts to the budget,” Herrity said. “Three big issues is 6% on top of 56% over the last 10 years is completely unsustainable – unaffordable and unsustainable. So that’s number one. Number two, we took another move in reducing services to our residents when we got rid of our Animal Protection Police. And the most disappointing to me was that the Board refused to form any kind of budget review committee like other Boards have done to look at spending reduction – things like benchmarking, things like looking at where our cost-growth has been.” McLean Citizens Association Budget and Taxation Committee Chair Louise Epstein said the county’s pension plans will be analyzed in two studies: to examine their financial condition and governance. She said the MCA has advocated for increased funding for the park authority. “This budget guidance directs county staff to review the “current funding structure” of the Park Authority and to recommend alternatives, even though they will necessitate increases in General Fund appropriations to the Park Authority,” Epstein said. The Virginia General Assembly will convene a special session on May 13 to discuss the state budget further. According to Hill’s memorandum, changes to revenue and expenditures in the state budget could impact the county’s budget. Additional state revenue will be recognized with budget adjustments at the FY 2024 Carryover Review. “They blamed the state and the fact that they can only tax real estate,” Herrity said. “So it’s their answer to everything, is more money from the state, which comes from our taxpayers, and more different ways to tax you. That’s their answer. That’s not acceptable. It’s a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
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